**TO ALL WHO RESPONDED TO .."THE THIEF OF MANY LIVES"..

WHO WROTE WITH ENCOURAGING WORDS... THANK YOU!! We are a people of HOPE...We are a people of COURAGE...We are a people who NEVER SAY DIE!!

Once again I am reminded of the HEART FELT COURAGE it takes to get through a single day with this DD!! Once again I am convinced that we are a group of some of the strongest people I've ever met!

It takes courage to get up each day.... it takes courage to face family and friends in the midst of THEIR negative comments... it takes courage to press on through the pain and fatigue... it takes courage to face our critics at every turn!! It takes courage to love and forgive their insensitive words that may cut to our very hearts!

As I have stated before... this article I posted was only a TOOL... not an epatath... not the final word and certainly not the summation of our lives! WE ARE MORE THAN OUR DISEASE!!

To those who disagree, well you have every right to do so and know that you are respected! Please, by all means, don't be offended and please do not use this article if you feel it does not benefit you in any way!

To all of you that this article has helped, I say a great big HOO-RAH!! Use it to inform, use it to enlighten, use it to help explain to those important people in your lives just what you are going through. And when you do show it to them, use that opportunity to tell them that you are NEVER GOING TO GIVE UP... YOU ARE NEVER GOING TO GIVE IN... YOU ARE NEVER GOING TO QUIT THE FIGHT FOR COMPLETE WHOLENESS.

If it is one thing I have learned about the people on this board, it is that we are FIGHTERS! If we weren't we would have just rolled over and died a long time ago! The very fact that we come to this message board shows that we are looking daily for answers, daily holding onto hope and daily saying..."I AM NOT GIVING UP, I AM NEVER GOING TO QUIT!!"

So please know that I appreciate all your comments, love and support! I really do!! And yes, I even appreciate the opinions of those who disagreed with me... that is what this board is all about... free speech!

Blessings to you all...from one OPTOMISTIC AND HOPEFULL FIGHTER... CAROLK

Yes for sure!!! your are dam right!!! sometimes I feel like giving up, but then something comes over me and I get so angry, I fight it with everything I have. The doctors can go right to where ever...I do my own research and tell them what I need now...I know my body, so therfore, know what I need............Somehow, Somewhere, Sometime, maybe someone will recognize us and understand what we all go throught, and stop this ignorance, it just makes me so sick .........sharon5650....up here in Montreal Canada

I like your spunk! I like your "never say die" attitude!! And I agree whole heartedly! It's up to us to tell the doctors what we feel and what we need. I believe we as patients know more about this DD than they do anyway!

They just have the idea that we are a bunch of "drug-seeking" whiners! I realized a long time ago that...SHY GETS YOU NOTHING!! And when it comes to pain... well as they say, "the squeeky wheel gets the oil"!

I say we squeek and squalk on!! Sooner or later they have to hear and acknowledge us and start taking this DD more seriously!